Public School Admissions

If you’re planning to enroll your child in kindergarten, or TK, for the 2021-22 school year, now is the time to start exploring your options.

Parents for Public Schools is an amazing resource to assist with navigating the process of the somewhat complicated application for San Francisco Unified School District. We attended one of their workshops and wanted to share the cliff notes in an effort to help others in the same boat.

SFUSD APPLICATION PROCESS

  1. There are 72 elementary options.

  2. In October: Research and narrow down

    1.  consider start time, location, any specific  programs/language

    2. ID your “attendance area school.” Use Website: enrollinschool.org/lookup/

    3. Check out https://drive.google.com/file/d/19emckJDmUVq-Tcesp2SVUt1I-bZg8P2E/view?usp=sharing

    4. And https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Bh1bC6OCXBGK7BHNNtvO4y84cQncjvqbBWW1FM28lAQ

  3. November: Plan to Register and attend Virtual enrollment fair - nov 6-13 (https://www.sfusd.edu/virtual-enrollment-fair)

    1. Be sure to attend Zoom “town halls” with your schools of interest (email questions ahead of time)  (Elementary are; 11/9 &10) 

    2. SFUSD Workshops are 11/7

    3. Each school will have a video tour available by 11/3. There will not be in- person tours, as it stands currently

  4. Consider a school’s culture, after school programs, staff, PTA/parent involvement, etc. when deciding the best fit for your child and your family. To assess, you may find the following helpful:

    1. Online Resources

      1. Sfusd https://www.sfusd.edu/schools/enroll/discover

      2. SFUSD enrollment guide https://drive.google.com/file/d/19emckJDmUVq-Tcesp2SVUt1I-bZg8P2E/view?usp=drivesdk

      3. Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco: www.ppssf.org

      4. Facebook group: https://m.facebook.com/groups/SFUSDLotterySupport/

      5. SFKids – Before/after school programs: www.sfkids.org

      6. California Department of Education: www.cde.ca.gov

      7. Support for Families of Children with Disabilities: http://www.supportforfamilies.org (415) 920-5040

      8. CAC for Special Education: http://www.cacspedsf.org 

      9. Kindergarten to College (K2C): www.k2csf.org

    2. Talk with current families, 

    3. Ask preschool teachers & community 

    4. Connect with PPS Ambassadors to further research/narrow down. 

  5. December/January: rank 10 schools according to preference

  6. Gather necessary documents. You will need: 

1) Photo ID of parent or guardian

2) Proof of child’s birthdate

3) One proof of home address

4) Apply through ParentVue or print SFUSD application form to mail-in or hand deliver to EPC

January: Complete application online and submit before 2/5 - sfusd.edu/onlineapp

● Click more options > Create an account

● Have an email address ready to complete the account creation process

● You will be directed to the Online Application. Click ‘Start a New Application’

Letters will be mailed 3/22

Must accept by 4/9

Note: 

  • charter schools have a different process

  • Once assignments come out, there is a whole different presentation on next steps, wait pools, etc.